Gustavo Dudamel

R. STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra / Dudamel 4791041

. . . a suave and strikingly subtle collection of Richard Strauss tone poems, with "Also Sprach Zarathustra" as the formidable headliner. Between its thunderous opening episode and its intricate combinations of instrumental sonorities, this is famously a vehicle for orchestral display, and the Berlin players rise to the occasion -- both the big ensemble blowouts and the numerous detailed passages for a handful of players are skillfully done. But "Zarathustra" is also an odd, perhaps unique, attempt to render philosophy in sound, and Dudamel is equally insistent on bringing out the piece's intellectual and expressive strains. He opts for leisurely tempos and a broad formal approach . . . Dudamel maintains a taut narrative thread throughout the music's discursive length, and the result is a performance both expansive and exciting. The other two pieces here . . . are marked by sumptuous sound and elegant vitality.

. . . a match made in heaven . . . [Strauss's tone poems] make a brazenly magnificent sound in the right hands, and that is the case here. Dudamel has all the swagger you might want, and the Berlin Philharmonic plays these bravura works with ease, confidence and mastery.

This recording would seem to be ideal for Gustavo Dudamel . . . the charismatic superstar conductor could be expected to make a meal of these works, especially with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Dudamel's slow tempo at the beginning of "Till Eulenspiegel" establishes a wistful atmosphere. The French horn solo is played flawlessly, and with considerable restraint. Impeccable orchestral execution within a framework of persistently slow tempos produces an overall laid-back effect. You will marvel at the orchestra's cool, almost matter-of-fact perfection.